Dandelion Dreams
by Mercy Of Baal
Summary: Tribute to Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine. The best SI story ever written. A fanfiction of a fanfiction. They are POV's from different characters. Sakura, Iruka, and others.
1. Not Kunoichi Material

I love Dreaming of Sunshine. Silver Queen puts up with all of my rants about her story, so I adore her! I wrote this one night when I was re-reading her story for the nth time. I love that she kept Sakura in the story line and that she is going to be relevant. I never did like Sakura in the original story until she fought Sasori, but SQ managed to make her likeable.

Not Kunoichi Material

Sakura never thought she would actually fail at something. Her parents had allowed her to be a ninja even though they did not want that life for her. But she had met her two best friends at the academy and nothing could make her regret that.

When she visited Ino or Shikako she could see the physical proofs that they were a ninja family. Their houses were strangely clean of clutter. While their décor was not Spartan by any means, she could see that the spaces were efficiently used. Nothing that would impede swift movement or exit. Sakura's mother had their tables filled with little figurines or keepsakes. Things they did not need but that her mother refused to throw away. Her friend's tables held pictures and flowers. The frames had an edge too sharp.. The flowers a bit too threatening with the little flowers they held hidden or the sharp thorns. Well placed kitchen knives that were easily accessible. Ninja wire hung from an innocuous pendant on a small chandelier. Everything held an edge of danger, and they were all things ignored at a glance. Things that she saw more and more as the years passed in the academy.

Regardless, she had never felt below Ino or Shikako. They never made her feel unwelcome or like an outsider. They shared her life and stayed at her civilian house often enough, sometimes helping her mother cook or tend her garden. They had helped her sew the empty clan circles into her dress without question. Sakura wasn't the top kunoichi (that honor went to Shikako) but she was comfortable knowing that she was one of the top students academically. She did not do as terrible as some other civilian girls in sparring.

A week ago she had hugged her parents after she rushed out of the academy holding a headband tight in her hands. She had been happier that she had imagined she was going to be. Nothing beat the physical proof of "yes, you are good enough". She had filled the forms and gotten her picture taken. She had felt like she was soaring the whole week.

It wasn't until her jounin-sensei was taking her headband from her hand that she felt an edge of dark jealousy. Her sensei had yelled at them plenty about their fails as a team, and she could not deny that he had been right. She flinched when the man's fingers touched her as he took her headband. He grimaced and patted her head before doing the same to her….teammates (she had learned that lesson). One of the boys was already blinking rapidly and breathing carefully. She was doing the same. All she wanted now was to go home, curl up, and sob. She wanted to forget the horrible feeling of failure and embarrassment and wake up from the nightmare.

"dismissed"

She didn't even wait a second before she turned and fled. The tears started running halfway home and didn't stop. She ducked her head and avoided meeting anyone's eyes. She ignored her mom calling her name from the kitchen and ran to her room to hide beneath the covers. She tried to quiet her sobs against a pillow when they started.

"Oh Sakura" Her mom didn't sound disappointed and that just made her feel angrier. She sounded sad.

"don't"

Her mother only patted her over the covers for a few minutes before she left her alone. She wasn't bothered for hours.


	2. Chapter 2: Iruka-Sensei's Kids

Thanks for the reviews :}. So this time it isn't Sakura's point of view I'm taking, it's Iruka-Sensei's. Hope you like!

Iruka isn't sure whether he likes his students growing so fast or not. Especially the team his favorite student is on. Naruto had become a Chunin unanimously before the whole village, Shikako had advanced socially at a wonderful pace, and Sasuke did not seem much of a ticking bomb anymore. They have survived missions that other Genin would have most likely not returned from at all.

Though not so fast apparently, he thinks as he watches Shikako breathe in and out in her sleep. Her mom sits across the bed from him looking a bit lifeless as she holds her daughter's hand. If that is not heartbreaking, he doesn't know what is. This is the second time he has been in this position. The first time Shikako had spent a month in a coma and no one knew if she or her sensei would ever get up again. This time the news are better, she was already recuperating from…dying and working on waking up from chakra exhaustion. There isn't much to do but wait in this situation.

Strangely enough, last time had been horrible in a different way. This time they had Tsunade, who had done surgery on her for hours. Last time there had been no one to help. Tsunade had not been seen for years. He had visited then too, looking at Shikako as she looked impossibly small in the hospital bed. She was just a child for Kami's sake. The same thoughts that had been going through his head when they had been put forward to the Chunin exams were present during that time. _Too young, too young, too young._ After all, he had been in the Chunin exams before. He had smelled the reek of death of children both as a proctor and a Genin.

"I was worried they were growing too fast…but she looks so small…doesn't she?" He startles out of his reverie when he hears Yoshino-san speak to him, repeating his thoughts back to him. His expression had probably given him away, he thinks sheepishly. He feels guilt at Yoshino-san trying to help him.

"She does" He winces awkwardly, he doesn't know what else to say. He remembers the first day that the Nara twins came into his classroom. The little girl had smiled at him at the end of the day, but she had spent as much time hiding behind her brother.

"I don't know where all that bravery and assertiveness fits" he adds jokingly.

It is also the truth, he doesn't forget that she was the first one to approach Naruto. He had seen the byplay happen through the window, watching his students to start evaluating them (and also curiosity over the jinchuriki). She had been so much more advanced that her peers, but also hindered by her social difficulties. He remembers her reaction to knowing that she could have been moved forward to a higher class (after she proved that she could use chakra). They had not tried to suggest it again. He had met with her parents in multiple occasions though, once at the beginning when they told him about her Chakra Sensitivity. She had also been one of his lowest students physically at one point, running slower than Shikamaru, who didn't even try (stemming from her difficulty with chakra). He doesn't know when she started to use chakra efficiently on that front, he had only seen the results.

"Stupidly brave" her mother adds hand tightening in response. _Yeah, the month in coma_. Going against Itachi, that had been stupidly brave. Trying to save each other's hides. He knows what Naruto told him. Using replacement Jutsu to save her teammate, he almost shudders. " _Wouldn't stop screaming even after Pervy Sage knocked her out"._ He didn't need to know that, he had been at the hospital at the time, taking an academy student for a broken arm. He had seen the medic-nins rushing past with a bed holding Shikako straining against the bed. Her shrill cries still echoes in his memories.

He snaps back to Shikako who mumbles out nonsense to her mother before closing her eyes again and going back to breathing deeply. He smiles and so does her mother.

" _It's Shika's turn to feed them..."_ He can guess what she is talking about. He stands up slowly when Tsunade enters the room clearly to check up on Shikako. They have been monitoring her Chakra constantly according to Yoshino-san. He has classes to go teach anyway, and he doesn't like to be late. He bows to both of them before squeezing Shikako's hand and walking out.

The sun is already outside, the position telling him it's about 7 in the morning, and he has an hour to walk to the academy. It would only take him 5 minutes to get there at civilian pace. He has time to stop and get flowers to take to his mother and father's grave. _Introspective mood_ he thinks smiling thinly. He scratches out the thought of Mizuki before it can fully form, and ignores the pang in his chest. He talks to his mother and father telling them about what he has been doing lately in the academy and what his students are up to now. And if he asks them to keep a close eye on Team Trouble…well then...none the wiser.


	3. Still a Shinobi

Sorry I didn't continue with Sakura. I was not planning on using her POV for all further chapters (if there are more). Maybe I will later on. I just write what comes to mind. Thanks for the wonderful responses. I'm glad there are more fans of Dreaming of Sunshine out there who love her story.

If you guys have any recs on who I could use tell me ;) Hope you like this chapter.

-Fragile Dreams

 **Still a Shinobi**

Ami knows she isn't a nice person. She's a bitch and she is very aware of it. She doesn't think that it's necessarily a bad thing in this business. She is a ninja, not a medic-nin. She is stuck in an outpost for the next three months tending to the messenger birds. She had been trained for more than 2 months in combat, then switched another 2 weeks to learning how to handle codes and birds. She had then been shipped out with chunin who were going to a mission and left at an outpost. Her days were half spent tending the birds and training, and the other half helping the owner of the establishment.

As boring as the job is, it's better than doing D-ranks within the village. Those missions were a joke. Babysitting, weeding, washing pets, she would hardly call that being a ninja. It was worse than working at her mother's tea shop. At least the pay had been fairly good. Being a shinobi of any kind, even a lowly Genin, was still a very respectable job. It is still hard not to feel like a failure when is stuck doing jobs like those.

She hadn't wanted to see Iruka-sensei's face. She had thought that he was nice (even though he yelled constantly and loudly) but someone who could give a headband to a kid knowing it would be taken away a week later was anything but cruel. She refused to not have her headband back on her head as soon as possible though, and that means going to see Iruka-sensei to have him sign the release forms from the academy. He had looked a bit guilty as she glared at him but spoke to her about the Genin-corps and what she could expect from it.

She had known that once she joined the Genin corps it would be almost impossible to crawl up and out of that rank. She had worked very hard to be assigned at an outpost and not stuck as a gopher in Konoha. All her friends had failed alongside her team, and the majority of the classroom too. Only the clan children had really graduated (She still did not know how Naruto had gotten his headband) and passed the jounin test. Some of the girls had even abandoned the profession completely (even happily) and others had dragged themselves to the Genin corps with her. Forehead-girl, she knew, was training to be a medic-nin alongside with Youbirin. They would be stuck in school for the next few years again.

Ami is in the kitchen writing a message to Konoha about the still missing Lady Kayo when she hears the owner of the diner talking to a team. She gets up and starts walking and stops at the horrible, horrible high pitched voice of the most annoying person she has ever met.

"That's awful…and no one has come looking for her yet?"

And then a few seconds later "Ami, dear! The ninja are here!"

She schools her face before walking out to meet team fucking 7. At least she'll get a glimpse of Sasuke, even if her crush on him has dwindled. She pretends to be surprised when she sees them.

"Oh. Shikako. Naruto" She doesn't know the name of the last person. A pale boy wearing a shirt too small and a blank expression.

She eyes Naruto's Chunin vest. She is jealous and it boils in her stomach. While she didn't know how he got the headband, she knows how she got the vest. She has heard from others about his fight and thinks it is exaggerated. Everyone knows Naruto is an idiot. She had been stuck in the evacuation bunks with civilians…in charge of protecting them. More like out of the way. She had heard the sounds of explosions and felt vibrations. She had acted professional and kept a calm demeanor, but it was hard not to break out in sweat and keep her hands from shaking when dust fell on them every few minutes.

"Ami, so you're working here now?"

She responded affirmatively a bit distracted. Shikako talking directly to her? That was a new one, not even avoiding her eyes. She could see the Nara's eyes moving rapidly and making deductions about her posting and avoided scowling.

"I sent a message about 3 days ago. I received an affirmative response 2 days ago from Kohona about accepting the mission and deploying ninjas. They should have gotten here already, even traveling at a civilian pace. She watches Shikako look over the map as Naruto and Sai (the pale boy's name) watch, and come out with conclusions about where to start. She knows enough about codes to know that they shouldn't be doing the mission without the go-ahead from Konoha, but Naruto is the one with the vest and he outranks her (and if they get in trouble she won't weep for them, she thinks almost vindictively). She knows exactly where to send them...and it is right information about the mission. She has to be professional.

"There have been a couple of rumors about strange things happening at the old Kubisaki Castle. Nothing concrete. Just "my brother had a friend who once saw" kind of stuff"

Naruto looks interested "What kind of things?"

Ami shrugged "strange noises. Lights on the inside the castle. People getting lost". She turns to Shikako again, who is the apparent leader (surprise, surprise). "Nothing concrete". They talk for a couple of minutes more and agree on what message to send back to the village. Naruto flinches when they name his authority and she smirks. Good. Their food arrive and she stands up to go send the message.

She later watches them leave through the window. Naruto is walking in the middle his arms on his head with Sai and Shikako at either side. She watches as Shikako leans forward to talk to the pale boy before they both run leaving Naruto behind. The idiot screams injustice and runs after them. She doesn't like them. She doesn't pretend to like them. But they are Kohoha ninja and she doesn't want them to get hurt, not ever. She wishes them luck in her head before she turns back to finish encoding the message. She does feel satisfaction when she puts in Shikako and Naruto's name as taking the mission on their own authority based on the current information. She has met Tsunade-sama only once, but she knows she is not to be fucked with.


	4. A Dance with Dragons

Summer seems to make me productive. Sorry for any grammar mistakes.

Takes place after chapter 14 (or 15 if you count fanfiction chapters).

Haku's POV. Might expand this one later. I like him

-Fragile Wishes

A Dance with Dragons

Naruto is a sun that never seems to stop shinning in your face. A bit too bright, but the warmth feels wonderful on his cold skin. Shikako is motherly even though she is young. He thinks it's a bit ironic that she healed his neck so gently when minutes before she had dug the same kunai into his neck. He had forgotten what that gentle care was like though. Sasuke is hard to pin down. He is prickly as they come. He glares at everything he finds offending or not worth his time and the rest of the time his face is blanked out. He knows Sasuke deep down though, a boy willing to sacrifice himself to save his teammate. Though the more they talked the less cold he was towards Haku. He doesn't think he will ever forget them or what they did for Zabuza-sama and him. The lesson he learned about also being loved back has been invaluable and something he didn't know was missing. It has filled a part of him that he didn't know was empty. Part of him also wishes we could have met them at an early age. He doesn't know about friends or games or having a team. They will have to part ways soon. Team 7 will go back to Konoha and they will have to head back to the forces to tell them about what has happened.

It is hard not be feel incredibly sad when seeing Team 7 laugh freely while running around playing like little children. They are using their ninja skills to run atop the water and soak at each other. It is weird seeing it. He has been raised as a tool, any skills learned are to be used to kill more efficiently or complete whatever task Zabuza-sama tells him to do. He almost giggles when he sees their sensei taking a powered hose to the face. Kakashi-sensei too joins them using his chakra to summon three water dragons to chase them. It is kind of incredible to see that. Learning to use a water dragon takes a lot of skill and plenty of chakra, a skill he hasn't yet learned. Controlling three dragons easily used in a game… he doesn't wonder why they were beat so much anymore.

He smiles when he sees Zabuza-sama shaking his head at their games. Haku has been taught well, ninja skills are dangerous and should be used to the best of their abilities. He catches Shikako's eyes as she is being dragged through the air by the Water Dragon and sends her a small smile. Her eyes sparkle and looks pointedly at Zabuza-sama. He turns and stares and his heart skips a beat. He couldn't possibly…well maybe…and before he can think too much and turn a bit coward he pushes forward with quite a bit of strength and pushes Zabuza-same into the water. His stomach flutters a bit and he can't help smiling when he hears Shikako start laughing before she shrieks and she is dragged in the water. Zabuza-sama resurfaces and glares harshly at him. He would be a bit more worried about the look if a shadow hadn't suddenly connected to his feet and rushes him forward into the water making him fall on all fours and the Dragon is suddenly there.


	5. Research is Fun

Takatori has worked in the research department a long, long time. He reads and guards the Clan Archive (because it deserves to be capitalized) like a jealous lover. He has forgotten to eat lunch and dinner (sometimes both in the same day) countless times. Sometimes he skips his meals on purpose because he cannot bear to put a book back on the shelf. He loves finding new tomes or scripts that hold valuable information. The people who enter know that they have to ask his permission to touch _things_ or they have to deal with him.

So, when he is told that a _Genin_ (doesn't matter if it's the head of the clan's daughter) is going to join him for a few months, he can't help but cringe. But Kofuku-oba just stared at him until he sighted and grabbed the project proposal. His precious books handled by a child…he might weep. The brat better learn to watch herself. He does read the paperwork though. It's wrong. The glaring problems around her fuuinjutsu is just some of the things he notices. What he does look at really, is that an _Academy Student_ wrote it. A well minted Genin or a Chunin could have written it. This is well above her pay grade. He has heard how intelligent she is, but knowing it and seeing it are two different things.

The next day in the afternoon he is interrupted while reading about crystals and their applications.

"You won't be able to remove anything from this room" Kofuku-oba says as they enter. He knows she explained it first just to spite him. "You'll be able to come here as long as Takatori is present to supervise you".

He yawns and rubs at his eyes, but he looks sharply at her from behind his hands. He wants to know what she does when she thinks she is with a friend and not a supervisor. What is her work ethic like? He doesn't care that Jiraya-sama is teaching her. If she is not ready he will kick her out.

"That's not something you should worry about. I'm starting to think I live here" He adds. He is just part of this place, nothing to worry about little Nara.

"He has authorization to acquire additional material if he thinks it's relevant" Kofuku-oba ads and sends him a sharp warning look. "I think you'll find plenty on the premises to occupy you, however"

He looks at Shikako and sees how her eyes move all over the shelves. They almost sparkle with glee. He sees the twitch her fingers make when she sees a particular interesting book and he can't help but grin.

"We'll just get along just fine, oba-san" He says and Kofuku-oba just looks at him deadpan before she rolls her eyes and leaves. He turns to Shikako then "Where do you want to start?"

Her eyes move fast with her thoughts before she settles with "where can I start?" He smirks and goes back to the table where he was sitting at reading the document. He sits with her while reading another document, but he watches her read it. Sometimes she looks up and asks him a question distractedly before going back to it.

He smiles softly before getting up and walking to find another scroll. He knows exactly who she reminds him off. Maybe she will be good to have around.

He is almost sad when he sees her holding herself carefully against their judging stares. She's confused as to why she is there and it's clear. This would be a great opportunity to kick her out of the archive if he wanted. Phrase his grievance correctly and she won't be allowed back for a long time. Takatori doesn't want that though. He's met with her several times now and she hasn't been anything but courteous and diligent in her work. He's seen what's happening to her stability every time she comes back though. He knows, as a Nara, how dangerous the jutsus that they do are. He has been taught to look for the warnings signs that they bring. He sees it in her. After each mission she seems wearier, more tired, more stressed. Sometimes she seems to be overflowing with emotions and at other times she seems so dead. She isn't a child. She doesn't sound like a child. She doesn't act like a child. She's a frightening little person. Her missions have been shit as far as he knows. He works in the Archives, part of that includes the economic records, so he gets information about how much each person is bringing. The amount of one was clearly an S-rank mission, others have been A-rank, and the rest are low paying. The S-rank everyone in the clan knew about. She _had died_ during that one, and when a daughter of a head clan died, well everyone knows. Before his mind can shift to that mission, because hell it was _Interesting,_ he steps forward after a very excited Roysen..

He had been woken up by Kofuku-oba just a few minutes before. Little Nara was in big trouble for testing Fuuinjitsu on medic-nins-to-be. He almost wants to facepalm. What was she thinking? Was her new teacher Orochimaru by any chance? Kofuku-oba gathers the other two closest registered ninja with an actual standing in research before explaining further.

It is not as seal applied to anyone

It works with emitted chakra

It tests for chakra control

He starts cataloging information almost as soon as it arrives. If it works, this could be a mine of information. He almost sees how Roysen is jumping in place with excitement. It is mind boggling that she created a seal, a new seal that is probably going to change a few things.

So the little Nara is there holding her seal like a shield. Questions are asked. It is tested. They decide to back it. Easy. Simple. It could have been a disaster though. It could have gone horribly wrong. He hopes that she wouldn't have used any type of seal on them regardless of what it does. She looks like she learned her lesson though. Today she doesn't look like a grownup, but a very scared child. It is almost…relieving. Understandable that she looks anything but that.

He talks with the other three a bit more, who are gushing over the seal like typical bored Naras, before he goes to see her. She might be a ninja, but she is a 12 year old who needs reassurance. She is angrily writing a new proposal. Well then.

"You don't have to re-design that now". He told her. He knows she knows that she doesn't have to do that right now. She is going to sink her project, clearly. He is a bit angry with her over that. It is almost an insult to researchers. Maybe he gave her a bit too much credit. This is the first hurdle that she has had to face though, it is understandable since she is a barely graduate. "Kofuku-oba isn't that angry. She was just worried and trying to get enough paperwork together to prove your case. She is fighting this on your behalf" Maybe a bit of shaming will get through to her. She just shrugged it off without looking up.

"I'm eliminating the chances of a repeat occurrence by eliminating the need for outside participants"

He could laugh at her sheer audacity, but this is not the right time.

"oh. I see. This isn't about appeasing anyone at all. This is about tanking the seal that got you in trouble so that it never sees the light of day and no one ever benefits from it at all. That's a little petty, Shikako-chan"

At that she did flinch. Was she expecting him not to understand? He has been working in the department a long time. Maybe he should be more understanding, after all, he has felt like shit after some talking downs from Kofuki-oba. She didn't look up at him. He dissects her actions back to her. What she knows about her project and what she knows about the system. He tries to cajole her.

'No one quite does passive aggressive like a Nara" He would know. She still says nothing.

"Ryosen will be disappointed" He continues again. "Something about kicking the myth of kunoichi being better at control?" That one doesn't work either. He hasn't failed until that moment to make her talk about her research or seals. She looks gloomy. Disappointed. He didn't want that. He sights. Instead he tries to console her with a pat.

"it's not the end of the world kid, we all fuck up sometimes" That clearly doesn't work. Instead of relaxing, her body becomes still, like she is ready to jump and fight at any moment. She breathed in when he took his hand off her head.

"Get some rest. It'll look better in the morning". It will even though she doesn't believe it. There won't be anyone to be looking at her judgingly at 3 in the morning.

He sees her again when he is tasked with giving her the materials needed to learn about search. Her mom hadn't talked to him, she didn't have to. She had gone in the archives, eyes blazing in anger before giving him the letter from the hearing. She had left with a curt goodbye. He almost face palmed when he saw the letter. He feels stupid. She hasn't been trained before. He had forgotten because of how mature she was.

After that, it is disappointing to see her change when it comes to research. She doesn't forget to eat lunch or dinner. Doesn't forget she had to do something _later._ She doesn't seem like a weight drops from her shoulders when she comes in. Her eyes don't sparkle when she sees the books. The archive has clearly lost its shine to her. Instead she looks guarded as she reads. She ignores Ryosen trying to cajole her into conversations about her research and only answers sparingly. He had played a part in that, and for that he feels guilty.


	6. Days Gone

FFFN:

So we had an update for Dreaming of Sunshine. That was exciting! I can't wait for the chunin exams to start. I also want to see what Silver Queen does for her exams. I'm guessing it will have the right amount of explosions necessary…maybe a rock ninja or two. Some of the plotlines seem to be moving ahead.

Also, um GoT fan here. WTF was that finale. Just like my line breaks. Where did they go?

Hope you enjoy!

WWWWWWMMMMMMMWWWWMMMMMWWM

Yoshino Nara knows she is bossy. She _has_ to be bossy when dealing with Naras. It is impossible to get them out of bed otherwise. Even Shikako, who missed the mark in laziness (her genes of course), is still impossible to rouse from bed early in the morning.

She remembers the first day they took them to school. They were so little, their hands soft and their faces still round and plump. She had gone straight to Shikamaru's room that morning even though Shikako's was closer. Her daughter was clearly nervous about her first day of school and that meant she would be in her brother's room sleeping.

She still feels like an outsider in the Nara clan at times. She had visited the grounds with Shikaku before she got married of course, but moving out of her apartment and into a clan house had been an experience. She had known what she would be going into (Shikaku had laid it out for her). The Nara clan while friendly, did not want her as the other half of Shikaku. Shikaku was a genius and a jounin, moving up in ranks like a true ninja. There was talk that he could be Hokage one day. She was a Chunin who would probably not get past Special Jounin. But she wasn't about to let go of Shikaku any time soon though. She knew how short the life of a ninja could be and she wasn't going to waste it. She would earn their respect and show them she deserved to stand beside her husband. She had done it eventually, she had the duties that every spouse of a clan-head took and more apart from that. They respected her opinions and followed her orders when she gave them. Not that they needed them, but in time she had to take the role. Shikaku was a busy man after all.

She remembers when she found out that she was pregnant. She remembers the joy and tears when she received the results of the test. She remembers how hard Shikaku (who was always to blasé) hugged her when she told him that evening. Yoshino also remembers how worried they were when they knew they were having twins, mixed with joy. She remembers how weird the feeling of someone moving inside her, making her stomach shift slightly at times.

It had been rough with Shikako as a baby. They didn't have her enough days before they were back at the hospital trying to figure out her incessant cries and coughing. It was heartbreaking to see your child shift her head trying to breathe in like something was there keeping her from doing so. She took big gulps of air followed by coughing. Yoshino used to fan air into her face making her breathe in deeply whenever she looked like she was choking on something invisible, she didn't know what else to do. She was thankful that Shikamaru was always quiet and easy to please. She or Shikaku used to stand over their cot at nighttime (which was kept in their room) because they were worried Shikako would stop breathing in her sleep. It was more stressful than she had ever gone through in her ninja life. Shikamaru was all Nara. He only made whimpery sounds when he was hungry and slept halfway through his bottle. She had to constantly wake him up so he could finish feeding. And Even though Kofuku-oba hadn't liked her one bit before she was pregnant, she still came to help her at times to visit the children, and that gave her the opportunity to do some necessary things around the house.

She remembers writing down the song they used for training in the morning. She had written while moving through the motions herself. She has a picture of the first day they did the stretches. They looked adorably silly. Their chubby hands reaching for their toes and forming lopsided warrior stances. They had gone inside after for breakfast. Shikamaru had made a run for his spot beside the window to lay down, but Shikako had followed to the kitchen. She was her little adult, always helping, always copying everyone. She specially liked to emulate Shikamaru, which she found adorable.

After lunch she had sat them down and started their regular lessons on reading. Shikako always eager to get to that point in the day, but Shikamaru just yawned and followed with his finger lazily. She had to remind him to pay attention to what he was looking at whenever his eyes started glazing over.

But today she isn't teaching them, and they are not little kids. Today they are going to eat dinner as a family for the first time in a few weeks. She hadn't seen Shikaku since he had gone to the border. She wishes he had been there when Shikako was in the hospital, or when she had received the news again and again that another mission had gone to hell. Ever since graduation every mission her trouble-magnet daughter had gone seemed to end with her going to the Nara Offices to fill in more hospital paperwork.

She isn't sure when the bond between her kids started degrading to the point where they do not talk to each other. Yoshino wants to cry at times. Just a few months ago she had to go pry them apart when waking them up. She isn't sure how to fix it. Shikaku always knew just what buttons to push to get them to spill their worries and secrets. To her, they just talk reassurance and pretend not to be fighting. She does what she cans when they train with her, hoping that they will resolve their issues themselves. Instead Shikako goes her own way after the training and Shikamaru just lays watching they sky.

So when Shikaku arrives she tells him exactly how the things have been, what missions they have been taking, and what they have done. Then she tasks him with fixing it. It's his time to stress over their little offspring. He just groans and hugs her closer, but she knows that's exactly what he was going to do anyway.

She remarks how nice it feels to be eating dinner again together as a family. Instead of their usual smiles she gets, she sees Shikaku run his eyes over the three of them, Shikamaru looks at his fork like it's the most interesting thing, and Shikako seems to shrink into herself. That's not what she wanted at all, and it almost makes her want to sigh.

After dinner they all pick up their plates without a sharp look from her before going to the living room. Shogi, always Shogi she thinks. The only game Naras seem to care about. She feels extremely happy that its ridiculous. Shikamaru and Shikaku sit across from each other on the board and Shikako looks on. She has been missing that part of her life and it feels warm to have it back.

Everything isn't right with her twins yet. It might not be right for a while yet, but it will be. They all love each other to pieces after all.

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So recs while you we wait for another DoS Chapter?

" **Swapping the cage"** You might have read this fic. It pretty popular. If you haven't given it a chance, you should…its different. Its also like a reborn fic. Its not Naruto.

 **FrostIron fic:** "Bend around the Wind". If you haven't read this fic. Put everything down and read it right now. Its space pirates. Its long. It's awesome. Like Silver Queen Scyllaya knows how to speak in the characters voices.

 **Naruto Fic: "Whispers in corners** ". Reborn fic. I loved it. I re-read it constantly.

 **Game of Thrones Fic "The prince that was promised":** Harry Potter crossover. Done very well.

 **Sherlock Fic: "A cure for boredom"** Naughty Naughty fic. You don't even have to know about Sherlock.

If you have read a twilight fic that was genuinely good let me know. I have given up on finding one.


	7. Brats All of Them

I have no life.

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Brats. All of them.

Tsunade either wants to grin or face-palm. The brats are talking about putting on a show at the final tournament of the exams. She almost wants to snap at them that they haven't even made it through the first two stages yet. She knows that kids die at those exams…but she can't help but trust their optimism. She has seen what they can do. Damn it, she has had to sign those mission reports many times. She knows that the Chunin clearing missions dread whenever she asks one cleared for Team 7. Not to say that the others are shabby, they have continuously showed their prowess through their own missions. Well her kids will know when to get serious. She settles for smirking instead.

Being a Hokage is stressful, she doesn't deny it. But it has breathed life back into her. She has a purpose now, and she wants to finish the job she started as a young lady. She wants ninjas to survive their missions and she wants to the hospital to be as strong as it can be. She wants the young ones to get married and have children. Most of all, she wants Naruto to reach his dreams. He is foolishly stubborn when trying to get what he wants. She believes that one day he can bring peace to them. After all, the first Hokage was also called a foolish man.

She knows the little brats are ready to be Chunins, well most of them if they can figure out how to approach a problem without trying to brute force their way into it. Naruto, the little idiot (she thinks it fondly), had proven that it could be done. Shikako is another annoying little brat that doesn't need lessons in strategy. But she always seems to end up at the hospital, so maybe lessons on survival will do her good. Maybe Tsunade-sama should send her off to a survival mission with Guy every time she ends up at the hospital… That will teach her. Shikako hasn't exactly been hiding from her eyes, but she knew that little conversation about her technique was coming. At least she hadn't shown any anger from her conversation with Sakura. She seemed to accept it, which was a bit strange. There is more to the story there, and she plans to let the little Nara stew until she spills. She has seen the notes she gave to Haruno for her technique. It's elementary, and she needs more background in chakra paths and physiology to be able to even attempt it. But as far as she knows, no one has gotten closer than them. As in actually attempting the technique like Sakura had done, and she doesn't doubt Shikako will continue to work on it until she has it. The brat was probably not even mad because she knew she could figure it out anyway. It makes her scowl. Her life work figured out by little brats, tch.

She hopes that Orochimaru is busy doing whatever the snake does to come at the exams. It would be foolish to attack them at the moment she thinks. She has jounins and several teams of genin around her. Indeed, there are another 3 Genin teams apart from Team Asuma and Team Kurenai going to participate. They are a bit jealous of the attention the brats get and it's understandable. Some of them are several years older and are now just reaching towards Chunin ranks. It must be hard to see them climbing the ranks so easily when they had to wait many, many D-ranks before getting there. Well the brats gotta learn life isn't fair. She watched out of the corner of her eyes how the dark haired Uchiha smirked at his companion's plans, but didn't actually join in. Not until Kiba went to elbow him and told him he had better use super cool lighting jutsu impersonating a certain blond brat, hand motions and all. The Uchiha just elbowed him back more sharply but that just made the Inuzuka come back as the other blond and grabbing his arm calling him mean "Sasuke-kun". Asuma stepped in then, before the present blonde spitfire could choke him. They settled down after that, moving on to different topics. Kami save her, a whole week with them. But she would rather do this a thousand times over that going back to her washed out life before taking the role of Hokage.

MWWWWMMM

 **Naruto Fic:** It started over coffee. I usually don't give Real World fics a chance. I like ninjas. But this story is damn good. Romance, drama, and funny….what more could you want. Naruto/Sasuke. Check it out!

Zombies! You can never get enough Zombies. " **Of flesh"** is a Sherlock fic. You don't need to know about Sherlock to read it…mostly. Whenever I get an update of that fic I dread it. Lots of suspense and horror.

So if you have Zombie Recs let me know. I like those. I like good crossovers with Harry Potter too. Looking for good Walking dead fics.

Thanks for the Twilight recs!


	8. What is Lost

Sorry. Sorry. I know the request was for Ino to think about how much Shikako had changed, but this came out instead -_-" Maybe next time?

Sorry had to take it down and repost. Forgot to check it for mistakes.

 **Fix: Apparently I am terrible at spell check (that aint old news). But I really F-ed this one up. Hope I didn't offend anyone! Thank you** **Eduard Kassel** **for letting me know.**

Hope you like! - FW

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What is Lost

" _-Ino! Ino! Wake up!"_

She struggles against the arms holding her down. The fangs are there in her face, a macabre white face laughing at her.

"kukuku did you lose them?" It gets closer and a tongue slithers out "you'll never find them again Ino-chan" it licks at her face as she struggles. Where the saliva falls her skin starts to melt off, falling in bloody chunks "do you even know what pieces of yourself are missing?" The tongue gathers the falling chunks and brings them to her mouth to eat "Here, I'll give them to you"

The shrill scream rips out of her throat and she opens her eyes to see a blond man holding her. She struggles against the arms in panic. Ino sees the hand coming towards her face but doesn't realize what it's going to do until she feels the sting of the slap.

"Ino. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare" her _father_ says as she takes big gulps of air. _It isn't_ she wants to scream it. It isn't just a nightmare. She leans over and throws up on the bucket beside her bed.

"I-Itaidoshin. Itaidoshin" She repeats as she shudders and her teeth clatter. It makes her recognize that she isn't centered. She hadn't recognized her own father, who sits at the feet of her bed. The blond man just stays still until her breath returns to normal, not judging or touching her.

"do you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head. She rather not have to relieve it, even through words. "Just a repeat"

He nods understandingly. Her father reaches forward to hug her and she can't help but flinch back. His eyes shutter for a second before his face clears.

"I'm sorry"

"You don't have to be. It's okay Ino" His voice is gentle and that's what manages to make her curl. She pulls her knees to her chest and lets her hair cover her face.

"It's not, it's really not. I lost myself"

"Not all of it I hope" she snorted and laid back down closing her eyes. Her father took the hint and stood up.

"Goodnight Ino" He left her lights on as he exited the room knowing she needed them.

In the morning, when she comes down the stairs and into the kitchen, her mother is standing by the sink cutting flower stems to the size of a vase. She turned around and pulled her into a gentle hug that lasted more than they normally did, and kissed her temple.

"Good morning Ino-chan. Want to help me arrange the vase?"

She almost said no, but then nodded. She started picking up the flowers and surrounding the white rose in the middle. Her mother starts humming a lullaby that Ino recognizes from when she was younger. She starts her mantra.

 _I'm Ino Yamanaka and I like flowers._

 _I'm Ino Yamanaka and I love my parents_

 _I'm Ino Yamanaka and I'm in Team 10_

 _I'm Ino Yamanaka and I love my friends_

 _I'm Ino Yama….._


	9. Chapter 9: Kilometers

For Reader: Really short. Not Ino but Hinata.

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Kilometers

Hinata watches as Kiba elbows Shikako making humor of the situation. Shikako shots back a snarky comment that makes her teammate laugh. She wishes she could laugh. Hinata takes a look at Naruto again, who is yelling while the Toad Sanin makes him blush about something. The man looks like a lecher, she thinks. Shikako respects him though, and that makes her suspect he is not the man he seems at first glance.

Naruto is leaving the village for three years. She's never had the guts to speak to him about her feelings. It seems everyone knows but him. He is amazing but clueless, she knows her poker face is horrible. He might come back someone changed, he might fall in love, he might not like her when she returns. She shakes the thought off. Naruto was sweet, he wasn't that type of person. After all, he had defended her in the chunin exams without even knowing her much and she never seen him be cruel.

She looks to Shikako again who laughs surprisingly loud at something Shino says. She doesn't know when Shikako changed into this type of person. She had been like her in the academy, but also so unlike her. Just as shy, but with more friends than fingers in a hand. She doesn't know how Shikako, who hid behind her twin, had the courage to be-friend Sakura and Ino. And after that, she hid behind them too.

Later, Shikako had told them neither of them was weak, and she couldn't help but believe it. She had grown, she just hadn't noticed. When Shikako asked if she wanted to go with her to give Naruto her present she didn't even ask how Shikako knew. She gathered get courage and got it out. She'd do this, and maybe one day she would have the courage to confess her feelings.

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Named so because Hinata's range grows this big later.

Recs to keep you from going crazy:

NARUTO FICS

 **How to fine Form 39-B by Thehoyden:** _The first time Iruka met Hatake Kakashi, he was still on some pretty good painkillers._

 **In bond and blod by Thehoyden:** _"I want to make Naruto my heir" Kakashi said bluntly_

 **Quicksilver by Halefyre:** _Kakashi doesn't know what to think, doesn't like how the stranger tracks his movements and looks oddly wistful when he whips out his book to deflect conversation._

B99 and Marvel. So seriously. This crossover works like magic. Too bad it's the only one. Its genius. Read it.

 **You can hear it in the silence by Waldorph:** _When CAPTAIN AMERICA walks into the precinct, Jake staples his finger and goesnt realize it for like, six hours. He can only be happy that Scully and Hitchcock leave every day they can at 4:48 PM. So that they couldn't bring shame upon the family._


	10. Pillars of Stone

And the Watari clan was never seen again in Naruto Universe.

Chapter 86 on DOS

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Pillars of Stone

Hokuto stares out into the lake, guarding the east side of the palace. The tree offers a good vantage point all around if anyone approaches from there. She knows exactly where the best entering points are. Toki-sama is sitting meters away eating lunch with Komei, discussing the new building that has been made for the ninja academy. For the past few months, they have been slowly integrated into the circulation of the town guards, but only two into the palace grounds. The children have been attending civilian school during the day and training in the evening. The rest of the clan had been busy helping build a small compound. The town wasn't friendly, but they weren't outright mean like at the beginning. She didn't blame them, but she hadn't enjoyed having to go to the market.

A few civilian children had come forward wanting to attend the academy, dragging their disgruntled parents behind them. Chiyome was in charge of the liaison between the civilian academy and them. She was the most 'approachable' ninja, soft at the edges. She used that to great effect, the manipulative bitch. They had held an information fair the past week about what would be covered in the classes. The civilians had been appropriately wowed and Chiyome had put them at ease. The first classes would start soon, and Hokuto had signed up to be a teacher.

After she was replaced hours later she walked slowly to the cemetery. She hasn't been there since she buried her brother.

"Hokushin" She said bowing to his grave before getting on one knee "sorry I haven't come" She doesn't need to explain why she hasn't. "I'm going to be an academy teacher, can you believe it?"

They haven't had an academy before, always training at whatever camp they were that time. Hokushin would have still laughed his ass off if he had been there to see her surrounded by brats. She prefers to remember that face, instead of the other one.

The face Hokuto had seen after unsealing the scroll given to her by the Kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf Village… before the funeral of their dead comrades. That brat had been a vicious little cunt. Somehow still standing after having fought her brother and Nagare.

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She and others stood by as Nagare's uncle unsealed his body. Their temporary tent had fallen in the process and caused a panic between the people. They hadn't expected a fucking pillar of earth to be unleashed at them. The falling of it from a three feet table had caused the ground to tremble a little bit. It had crumbled on contact and created a dust storm making people yell.

The Samurai guarding them had ran with their weapons out as the Commander yelled "Stand down! Stand down!" 5 minutes later of explanation, they had understood that they weren't the problem.

"The fuck?" had asked their new commander, walking around the debris, after the tent fabric had been removed. "This was in the body scroll?"

He'd kneeled and called people over to help them remove a piece of hard earth still in a cylinder shape. She could see the feet of Nagare. That revealed his whole body. He was intact.

"Found the scroll!" Another had one said. Nagare's uncle drooping a blanket over his nephew's body.

"She knows fuinjutsu. This is no normal scroll" Hokuto almost wanted to say _no shit_. The paper had been ripped distorting the seal. He scowled but rolled it. Useless. No one knew any sealing in their clan and it was incomplete now anyway. "A warning would have been nice" He had said looking at her, but not reproachfully. That conversation had been short, yeah no. They cleaned up the mess efficiently and put up the tent again. One of the guards had sent for another table and Nagare's body was set on it. They had gone outside to unseal her brother's, just in case.

He wasn't in a pillar of earth. His body was complete. His face though…that had been…yeah.

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She slapped the dust from her knee and left not wanting to be there another second. She went to her now complete spartan house she was sharing with another 3 kunoichi. She went straight to her room after nodding to them

This peace they had in the town… Knowing that maybe this was the place they could stay, it was putting some of them on edge (including her). Finally being there, what they had been looking for. Terrified of it being ruined.

She saw her incomplete lesson plan on her table and went to it. Anything to get her distracted. Hokuto grabbed a new piece of paper and wrote at the top "Ninja Weapons and Their Applications".

She hated the Leaf-nins. She couldn't help it after seeing her brother's body. But she wouldn't be the reason they lost this new chance.

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 **So. This was supposed to be lighthearted and fun. Their reaction kind of like Sasuke's…but that was not realistic.**

Sakura. Iruka. Ami. Haku. Takatori. Yoshino. Tsunade. Ino. Hinata. And now Hokuto.

Well, that's been a few lol.

Rec:

" **Wand and Shield** " crossover of Naruto/Avengers. It's written amazing. Minor characters appear. Even Spiderman makes it in.

" **It started over coffee** " this rec again because its amazing and deserves to be mentioned again. its hilarious.

" **Escape Artist** " Umm. How to explain this one. Slash between Minato and Naruto. Yeah. Its not fucked up like it sounds. Its pretty K right now and hasn't been updated. Minato doesn't know who he is since Naruto traveled to the past.


	11. Signs of Inheritance

Well! Great news right!? Equality laws have finally passed in the USA. Rainbows everywhere on social media.

So, yeah…this isn't canon or even DOS canon…but oh well! Happy birthday to whoever right?

Sorry for grammar mistakes. I try to fix whatever I see but they still go through. I can't sit and revise it over and over. My English grades show it.

Maybe I should. Damn.

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Signs of Inheritance

Neji turns away from the kunai, letting it pass where his arm was. He taps Tenten on the wrist hard but doesn't apply chakra. She grunts and drops the kunai but swipes a foot out, making him backflip away from it.

They trade more blows and he can tell how much Tenten has worked on her weaknesses. She's been more aggressive since the Chunin exams, and he knows exactly how that feels. He goes into resting stance and Tenten breathes out, straightening from her crouch panting, but looking gleeful.

He nods goodbye to his teammates and he walks home to wash up for dinner. If you are late to them, you get subjected to judgmental stares that make you unable to eat. In turn you get more judgement for not eating dinner. Hinata-sama dares not be late ever since she was driven to tears at the table.

He arrives to see Hinata sparring with her father. Her unmarked forehead glistening with sweat. The headband feels heavy suddenly, like it sometimes does when he sees her with her father.

His inheritance, he thinks. The eyes that allow him to see so much, but also the seal that restricts him. Oh he knows what happens to those unmarked. The ones who turn into targets for bloodline thieves like Hidden Cloud. He could understand the logic behind it, if he hadn't seen that it could also be used as torture. Torture that should not be used on allies, let alone family. He tries to let go of the anger of those memories. The memories of pain as the seal was burned into his forehead. He doesn't know how they can make children go through it. Hanabi is older now (and he doesn't particularly like her), but he wouldn't want her to go through the pain and feelings of betrayal. He knows what his father was thinking now, when he sacrificed his life for his brother. It still causes bitterness to bubble up.

He might be only 14, but he's known for a while that he doesn't want children. They would surely be sealed. If he refused, he would be treated as a traitor by the elders. Kohona can only interfere so much with Clan matters. Naruto has promised to change the Hyūga for him, and he can be very persuasive. Reality is that it will be hard to change the Clan laws, at least for this generation. Hinata would rise as head of the clan, but the clan elders would still have most of the power. They could be convinced to change the seal so that it only affects after death, but the permanent application would still be painful. They would need a seal master to design it. Someone who knew about medicine, chakra paths, and the application of seals. He doesn't know if they could present the clan elders with anyone who could be trusted with such work. Impossible. Ninjas who had children had them at a young age, a few years wouldn't change anything.

He doesn't want to subject anyone to that, and if he can help it, he won't. Not that he is particularly interested in getting married or females in general. No one knows that his inclination is towards members of his own gender, and he hasn't trusted anyone with the knowledge. The clan elders could order him to marry to continue the bloodline and he would be expected to comply. They don't exercise that power often because they aren't driven to use it. The clan knows their duties. They don't often marry outside of their clan. While the Hyuuga name is prestigious, they are known to be cold and aloof. Anyone who married into it would be expected to serve the main family, and not many are willing to do that, or subject their children to being sealed.

Tomorrow in the morning, they are to meet the other Genin at the tower. Naruto won't be with them in this test, won't be with them for the next three years. Hinata had been gloomy the evening he left, making him cringe but also soften. He's known how much she admires him and for how long, she is very transparent. He knows one day they could marry and have children if Naruto can look past his nose. He knows the blond would never seal children. But Naruto is hopelessly clueless that it's almost ridiculous, even for a thirteen year old.

He doesn't know who he would marry if he was ordered to. He also doesn't know who he would ever like enough to make him confess his feelings. He hasn't let anyone close to him for years. He has had passing fancies to attractive young men, but never considered doing anything about it. He doesn't think he will for a long time.

Hiashi finishes the fight and tells Hinata to go clean up, before he turns to Neji.

"She will be vulnerable in grass" Neji doesn't respond, but acknowledges it. An unbranded Genin Hyuga, daughter of the head of the clan makes an attractive target. He knows what Hiashi is asking. Hinata has grown remarkably, but she isn't strong enough yet.

"I will help protect her" he doesn't feel bitter saying it. Hiashi comes close and puts a hand on his shoulder. Neji is surprised but doesn't show it.

"Thank you" _and keep yourself safe too_. Hiashi doesn't say it but he sees it. He bows and he is told to go wash up. Hiashi has been doing that more, trying to treat him more as family, and that means treating him a bit like Hinata and Hanabi.

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	12. Missing You

I write. I check for spelling. I upload the document.

5 minutes later I notice a few mistakes. *sigh* I fix it, upload it again, replace the document. Save.

*sees another mistake & totally ignores it*

Yes, I know it has mistakes. Thank you for the PM's and reviews but if it's there it will probably stay there. So unless it's an offensive mistake, like forgetting the N in Fangs, I probably will ignore you.

If you feel very strongly about it, I guess I can send you the document and you can fix it. AKA Beta.

Also, I hope this ruins your day :]

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Missing You

"Shikako? Sweetheart? Are you alright?"

Shikako looks up from her breakfast plate to see the worried face of her mother, father, and twin. She swallows down the bile and nods at them before pretending to eat. Shikamaru knows that during the night she ran into his room and curled up behind him crying. It's happened before, but not often.

Her father stares at her as she goes into the little forest where the deer live. She sits down and stares at her hands. It would be so easy. Too easy to weave a lie. Her hands shake and she puts them down. No, she won't because she is terribly afraid of the consequences.

The dream, even though it was a happy one, has her heart bleeding. She was at her birthday party. Her **old** birthday party when she turned 17. Her _mother_ and _father_ had been staring from the back as she laughed with her friends. They had been laughing too. And yes, it had been her mother and father, she would have known their faces anywhere.

It was the waking up part that was hard. That she hadn't met anyone even when she died. It was the questions. Would she ever see them again? Wasn't she supposed to wait for them at the other side? it made her turn into a sniveling mess as soon as she woke up . But what made her want to shut out the world was that their faces blurred when she woke up. She didn't remember their features as well as she used too. Had they even looked as she remembered them in her dreams?

So she did, she shut out the world. She shut it out until she could look at things without them weighting her down until she folded.

Her hands that could create an illusion of them if she wanted. But with their faces out of her reach, how would they show up? It would break her to see that she couldn't remember them.

It was past lunch time when her father came to find her. He didn't say anything but sit beside her. They had tried talking about her dreams before, but she just deviated the questions. No, she couldn't tell them. Her father just petted her head softly and then put his arms around her. She relaxed into the hold after a few minutes when he didn't ask anything. He hummed a song and she closed her eyes to listen to his heart beat. Her other parents had loved her, and wouldn't have hated her for calling other people her parents, she knew that. But it was still terribly hard not to feel guilty.

When she woke up, she was facing the window. The sun was setting making her room glow orange. Shikamaru was curled up behind her, and she knew he wasn't asleep. She didn't know how her father did it, how he could carry her and not wake her up. She must have been exhausted. She didn't feel as bad as she had felt in the morning, but there was still a hole in her chest.

Her stomach growled loudly, making Shikamaru scoff into her hair.

"Troublesome"

They made it down to the kitchen just as her mother was setting the table. She didn't comment on the fact that her favorite food had been made. She didn't comment on the fact that Shikamaru talked more than he ever did, or that her mother didn't berate him as much. She sat and played a game with them smiling as the weight was slowly removed from her shoulders. She didn't say anything as Shikamaru led her into his room without a word or when he let her curl up against him once again.


	13. Brought Down to Badass

_To know what is right and choose to ignore it, is the act of a coward_

Brought down to Badass

Kakashi is standing slightly to the side and behind the Hokage pretending to be aloof. Zabuza is in the same position behind the Mizukage staring intently at the field as Shikako approaches, his leader does the same with a little smile. Not just them, he notices when he looks to the side while pretending to scratch at his arm. The higher ranked ninja are interested in the fight. A grass ninja who can shut down your chakra (a complete nightmare for all of them) is _important_ watch. Every ninja knows the feeling of chakra exhaustion is horrible, but not being able to feel it….They have seen the other genin pass out as soon as the seal connected.

The other interest is Shikako because she is the only ninja with an S-rank in her file. The Sand ninja had gotten an A rank for their trouble. Probably trying to play low the whole situation with the invasion. If you treat it as unimportant others are led to believe it was.

He watches as Shikako bows to the grass genin and he returns it. He could have warned her about what he does, but then again, she hadn't bothered to find out about him more than what she had been told by her peers. He knew she wasn't a slacker, and this could be a good lesson for her. She has fought ninja so outside her rank that this might show just how much she has grown. He has trained with them since he came back with the border but hasn't watched her fight seriously in a while. The first fight in the exams didn't even count in his opinion, except to serve as amusement.

Zabuza smirks when Kakashi reaches up to move his mask away from his Sharingan, but doesn't say anything. Kakashi watches as her shadow connects with her opponent and the way her face falls in disappointment. It would be funny, if he didn't know what was coming. The seal unleashes faster than a person can move and he sees it crawl on Shikako's skin. He watches as the color drains from her face and her breath stutters. He hears a cackle from the current place holder of the Sand Kazekage and a snort from the Raikage as she falls to her knees. He smirks a little under his mask.

He watches as Shikako moves in attack once the other Genin is confident she is done for. The space separating them is enough to give the grass Genin a reprieve. He hears the surprised mutters around him as she continues her attack. Wary now that she has shown she is far from helpless. He can see movement on the stands below him as a more than few people check their purses of coins from the betting.

"Kakashi, let go of the seat" he notices his hands are making the wood of the Hokage's seat creak at the same time Shikako's bone snaps loudly. Without any chakra her bones are brittle in a fight, and she can't nullify the pain. It must be agonizing. He hears Ino yelling in the stands. Neji and Hinata by now have told them what is going on. Sasuke is grinding his teeth and Neji stands close to him. Interesting.

He breathes in and watches as Shikako curls down. He can see the minute movements her arms are making. She is writing. He relaxes his shoulder a bit. She has found a way to even out the fight. The ninja stare as her tags work even without chakra. She is faster now too. He hears the mutters around him. He knows what they are wondering. _Has she discovered a way around the seal?_

He watches as she rolls in the ground with him. The villagers are looking more and more disappointed, but the ninja look wary. Her arm must be in blinding pain as she struggles. He sees the fight suddenly turn when she starts choking him with her braid. Right. He makes a mental note to teach his Genin more grappling moves when they get back in the village.

"Damn" is what Zabuza utters as he looks on and Kakashi completely agrees.

She lets the ninja go and stumbles as she gets up and applying medical chakra to her arm as soon as possible. The best part is when the mediator of the fight approaches her slowly to check on the Genin. He is wary of her, a Genin. He sees the smirk has fallen from the Raikage's face and is instead staring at them. Tsunade only smirks back as she gets up.

"Going to go check on my brat" He follows behind her and watches the smirk turn thoughtful. He knows what they have seen. Shikako is dangerous. Really dangerous. She'll need to be watched like Sasuke and Hinata now. As a person of interest until she can be protected by herself as she can. He doesn't doubt that will be coming within months.

"You have taught her well" Kakashi almost wants to take out his book and ignore her but he can't.

"She has always been like that" because he remembers that first bell fight. He remembers as she took him out of Zabuza's trap. He remembers as she fought Haku. That she beheaded three genin in the Forest of Death. Countless other fights he has seen or read in reports. She's never been meek on a fight.

"Take the compliment Kakashi" He stays quiet and they enter the medic bay just as Neji is telling her they won't leave her alone. It's almost sweet, how much the Konoha 12 care for each other. He avoids his thoughts going dark and instead he eye-smiles at her and teases her about her fight. She takes it very seriously anyway.

Tsunade stares at him like he did something wrong before cutting her sleeve. Oh.

He cracks a smile when Sasuke looks ready to jump over Tsunade and smack her. Shikako looks relieved that Tsunade isn't planning in coming between her next fight. Shikako would have probably ignored the orders anyway. He brings up his book and pretends to ignore everyone until Shikako looks up at him clearly wanting an explanation. She is clueless as Naruto in some ways.

"There are jounin in the crowd that wouldn't have wanted to fight that match" Kakashi feels that way too even though he knows the Genin is no danger to him. He doesn't want to know what being separated from your chakra feels like. He tells her about him now feeling strangely guilty. She doesn't seem to mind one bit that she wasn't told about him, clearly knowing that she could have researched better. Well, you can't go into every fight knowing your enemy. She had shown that she didn't know what his jutsu did. She had shown that she had won that victory all by herself. There would be no grumbles about cheating.

He knows that there are guards posted in the bay by the doors. A genin dying in the hospital outside the ring does not do anything good for any village. The medic-nins are still looking at her with tight mouths. A bit insulted that she didn't tell them she was hurt and that Tsunade had taken over.

"Some people were quite confused about how you managed to avoid the seal" He says lightly like she didn't just pull off an amazing win. She looks confused and he wants to snort. As sharp as she is, her own growth sometimes seems to escape her, even as she looks confident about fighting other Genin. He just nods and does nothing to cure her confusion.

He walks back with the Hokage to the seats. He ignores the looks that are thrown their way now that they have time to discuss the fight with them out of earshot. The Mizukage smirks at them flirtingly before her eyes shift a bit towards the Raikage. Yes, he doesn't miss the way his cheeks are tinted with red.

He watches as Shikako is pulled by her friends into a tight bubble of protection. Sasuke hovers while pretending he doesn't and replaces Kiba's spot when he leaves for his fight. Yes. They'll do great things.

He mutes his chakra on a signal from the Hokage and stays to watch over the Genin until they all have left towards the cafeteria. At night he watches from afar as Shikako folds over the table and writes and writes seals. Jiraiya would be proud of her. He waves to Asuma and goes to rest.

Yeah, his Genin are pretty incredible.

MWMWMWMWMMW

And yes, I stole the title from TV tropes lol.

Now for some Recs:

 **Hello.** By jercydrablles : Percy Jackson as a merman. Trust me, you won't regret it.

 **V is for Victory** by Daniellemydear : The Avengers and Captain America. Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers. Yeah I wouldn't have given this a time a day. Except that I do love time travel fics. This is awesome! I loved it.

 **Getting it Right** by Potentiality 26 : Kingsman: the Secret Service. _Kiss me._

 **Everything I never knew** by staringatthesky. Only twilight fic I have ever liked, probably because it's not..pathetic. Rosalie Hale in the past. Royce doesn't kill her. Instead they do get married. She discovers how much of a mistake this was.

 _ **Series Rec**_ : The Mentalist. If you are looking for a new show to watch. Try this. lots of seasons to watch. All very good.

This time I made sure I didn't incorrectly label them lol. Oops. That Wand and Shield rec on the previous chapter definitely does not feature Naruto.


	14. Alone

I didn't want to do Sasuke because I was terrified of f-ing it up. When someone said I want to see Kakashi, I froze. When I was writing it I kept telling myself. Wrap it up! Wrap it up before it goes OC. Because yeah, I know that I make grammar mistakes but the real blasphemy is making the characters dull.

Nobody was mean to me so…thank you lol.

Alone in the World

He wakes up and for a few seconds sheer relief hits him. It was a nightmare. A _nightmare_.

But as he shifts his arm pains him. The flash of Itachi cutting him replays in his head. The utterly uninterested look Itachi had worn. It was dead.

And then he hears the nurses.

"yeah, that's what I heard too. That boy was the only one who survived the massacre"

They talk about Itachi. They don't know where he is. They are worried for a monster. He walks out of the hospital towards the Uchiha District. The smell of death and blood is faint, but there. He wants to retch. The clan is empty and broken. Part of him starts feeling like that too. He wants to scream his head off. He wants his mother and father. Part of him even wants Itachi. Wants his brother to come and tell him it wasn't him. He stands there stupefied.

He finds the scroll Itachi told him about. He wants to understand why.

Kill your heart.

That's the answer to why Itachi did it. Power. He is so angry that he feels empty. He closes the secret door and walks out. He sits on a bench and stares at the empty and quiet street. The one that was always full of people shopping. He sits there even after the water drenches him and makes him freeze. He is shuddering.

"Sasuke" A grave voice says. The Hokage is standing close looking grim. The Hokage robe is stuck to his body. The only dry spot is his face due to the hat. He could care less about the man right now though. The Hokage says nothing for a few minutes and just sits beside him. He moves away from the hand that reaches towards his shoulder. The man's face falls but takes his hand away.

"You have been asleep for a month. We had to have the funeral without you"

He lowers his head, it was just yesterday his mom had hugged him before going to school.

The Hokage takes him to the graves. It has been made into a memorial. The countless headstones are daunting. It's there. What he lost is plain and clear.

* * *

What was that? You guys were expecting Shikako to make it better?

Hahaha i thought about adding the scene were Shikako drags everyone to eat with Sasuke...but nah...lets leave it like this.

* * *

Recs: (By me (sort of), by me, and by me)

DREAMING of Sunshine Switch. If you guys havent read it. Go. Its a collaboration project between Lady Hallen, I, and others. Canon cast meets DOS cast.

Also, What Plot? Iron Maiden & What Plot? London runs are up on my page.

DOS crossver with Avengers and Sherlock.

Real Recs: 

Komorebi by Lonestarmoon- DOS fanfiction from Shikamaru's point of view. Will totally shift your view of the real fic.

The Accidental Arrival of Lauren Harris by Mandagal12- Lord of Rings and OC. SI for the win yo! It's really good.

 _Kingman Recs (AO3)_

After Image by Esama

Smoke by Esama

Picture perfect by Esama

...you get the point. anything by Esama...

Getting it Right by potentiality_26

Weird recs

Personify by Dreams2paper11- Owen Grady is an empath. Raptor Squad daddy...dont let this shitty summary trick you. its really good.


	15. Shikabane-Hime

Woah. Woke up to tons of email alerts.

Sempai noticed me! (I did just say that, I embarrass myself, or so says Lady Hallen)

Anyway. Stealing Kakashi's voice again.

And umm chapter 95…DID YOU FREAKING SEE THAT!? How awesome was that fight? I kind of didn't want to write this because…how do I even…

*keeps fangirling endlessly*

I'm hoping Silver Queen uploads a POV too. I'd be 10 times better than this.

Should we be worried?

"Hn. I thought you said the sand kid wasn't psychotic anymore"

The temporary Suna kage pursed her lips but stayed quiet. This is how chunin exams usually went. It was all a show of power and politics. Zabuza had mostly taken over talking with Kakashi, since he was well received. The Mist Kage would just comment along and make insinuations about making an alliance with Konoha. Tsunade was going to say yes, Kakashi knew, but right now Mist looked to earn more from the alliance than Konoha. And they are, foremost, ninja and they would need to know what the alliance would offer.

He eye smiled at Zabuza "That's not what I'm worried about. I think I would prefer her to have an uncontrolled Chidori than what I saw this morning"

Now everyone was listening in. The Raikage was sneering at them. Kakashi almost wants to sigh. He is worried for Shikako. She had shown her hand in the last fight. He could see that more than a few would be interested in her, and not in a good way. This fight would throw a wrench in it. He already thought she needed to be watched and this wouldn't make it any better. The best would be not to downplay her abilities anymore and instead show that she could be lethal. He wanted to hang his head. And here he thought having the last Uchiha and a Jinchiriki in his team would be the problem. He was going to make Shikaku buy him a drink when they got back.

And then Shikako and Gaara entered the field.

"Kakashi" Was all Tsunade said. There was a warning in there. _Why didn't you fucking tell me_? Yeah, he could see why she was worried. The seal scroll behind her looked especially threatening.

The Mizukage gave a delighted laugh "are we far enough away from the field? I heard something about her and exploding seals"

Now everyone was looking weary. That scroll an exploding seal? She might have been a Genin but seals were dangerous.

He smiled. He didn't know what it did either but it _probably_ wasn't.

"She is a student of Jiraya. Her sealing capabilities are significant" Tsunade said. Half showing off half reassuring. Yeah that didn't make them relax either.

"Your brat puts on a good show" Zabuza said in agreement, remembering the mission against them. Tsunade's eye is twitching. He knows that Zabuza is saying that because he has been told to _play nice_ with the Konoha nins, but it's a bit baffling anyway.

He takes his sharingan out again when they get to their places.

"Let's have a good match" She says. And it sincere and reassures everyone that Suna and Konoha stand together. Some of the Kage purse their lips though.

The referee eyes her apparently unlimited scrolls, starts the match, and moves away more than necessary. Well not so, Kakashi thinks when Shikako immediately plants the humongous scroll down.

"Sealing Style. Earth Style: City of Pillars!"

His sharingan shows him all the chakra sweeping into the floor. That does not bode well. The ground started rising in places in long pillars. His head is going off in warning signs.

 _Oh, Shikako_

His throat feels a little funny. This is his student.

He knew she wanted to show off but this is on another level and he feels so proud. He can't take his eyes away from the pillars to watch the reactions. He hears the curses though. Zabuza has an interesting imagination. She rises on top of one. The parallels does not escape him.

Gaara follows her with sand and Shikako throws paper at him. If those aren't explosive seals he will eat his headband. The first pillar falls with a thunder. The stands tremble. A pillar of pure stone hitting the ground was magnificent. He catches every little detail with the sharingan.

"The paper? Exploding notes. Think fast" She says. The sand is right in front of them. For a second he knows everyone is worried, but Gaara throws the sand away from them. The explosion doesn't bring much heat, but the sand explodes in clouds. The little seals left behind shine bright and die just as fast. it looks magnificent and it wows the viewers.

She then shows she is a Nara by attacking him with Shadows. This time she is wary about the shadows being used against her. She stops that attack and enters a grueling Taijutsu fight with Gaara. A Taijustu fight with Gaara. She was about as fast as Sasuke, but Gaara had clearly been working on that weakness because there were no openings.

"Fuck"

Zabuza says as she brings out the Sword of the Thunder God and launches an attack. He would know the significance of that sword.

"She doesn't even know how to use it" He says looking at Kakashi reprimandingly. Figure that out. Its probably a blasphemy in his book.

"That Sword?... You gave it to a Genin?" The Raikage comments. He seems so offended that it almost funny. The Second Hokage and his Sword was well known in their history books. They had hated him.

More than a few people cover their eyes from the brightness of the lighting attack. A few civilians yell and try to move back. Ninjas come forward to the bottom of the stand. It quiets them down.

His eyebrows go up when she stands there holding the Sword, and oh Kami that does not bode well. The lights on her arm light up. Gaara does the wise thing and creates a barrier. The ninja in front of the stands get into a fighting stance.

The top of the Hokage's chair breaks under the pressure of his hand and she says nothing.

Her voice thunders out and they wait for the lash. He lets out a startled burst of laugher when she drops the sword instead. The ninja twitch.

"Heh" Zabuza snorts out.

She seals the whole shield away. Even that would have caused Kakashi trouble.

The tide started turning after that. She was low on chakra and on her last seals. Gaara's sand was dancing on the ground.

"Explode!"

"Where did she hide those?"

The Mizukage asks touching a finger to her lip. The pillars start falling. The civilians scream. Some in fright and others in euphoria. The stands tremble again and again. Some shatter where the tags went off. Others fall and break in half when they reach the ground. The smoke and dirt rise blocking some of the view.

"Quicksand waterfall flow!" Gaara says it loudly but calmly. The sand rises and covers the ground completely. It looks like a mirage. Genins shouldn't be allowed to be this powerful he thinks.

So she goes up. The last scroll of on her waist releases another pillar. It falls and lands on the sand. This time the tremble is more of a shake. It slowed it's descend.

"Sealing Style: Air barrier!" She bellows out. It stops the sand. It hits against an invisible shield and spreads, making some of it fall away. Gaara's twisting hands have to change is directions. Then it falls. The sand breaks through the shield. He watches as Shikako freefalls into it. His heart goes a bit cold. He knows that Shikako trusts Gaara now and the madness is gone from his eyes. But he remembers the crumpled bodies from that move.

The sand moves them back to the center of the field. Shikako still within it. Its quiet. Gaara gives a look to the referee.

"M-Match. Winner Gaara of the Desert" he says breathlessly. The people start cheering loudly. The sand falls away from Shikako. Her face is calm. She looks like she has been through the wringer though. He wants to yell his heart out in cheers. Tsunade claps calmly. They ignore the wary looks from the other Villages.

They make a grand exit. Gaara helps Shikako to the sand and grabs her arm in support. His sand is holding her feet steady. Her knees are trembling but she doesn't fall. He would think the kid is doing it for the show, but he is staring at her face. Hmm.

The Suna Kage cackles knowingly.

The other Konoha Genin grab her at the edge and engulf her.

"Your Genin put up a good show"

Tsunade looks to the Mizukage and gives a real smile "Yes, my Chunin did"

He smiles widely under his mask. For a few seconds the tension doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that the other Ninja and Kages are looking at them in anger, disgust, and worry.

MNMNMNMNMN

* * *

So. When I saw this chapter I said I wasn't going to write anything because I'm not worthy.

Hopefully it worked.

Do you guys think the Suna Kage knows where Gaara got the info from now? what do you guys think?

Recs:

 **No Fare by PrettyArbitrary** : Sherlock fic. Badass John

 **Poseidon's child by Michi_thekiller** : Mermaid fic. Damn guys. This is A grade Creepy.

 **No Dominion by Imogen_Penn** : Zombies and Avengers. Great read.

 **Dances with Snakes by Captain_Holland:** Harry Potter time travel to Tom Riddle's time. Tries to be a good father.

(made sure they were labeled right).

Do you guys like the recs or nah?

* * *

Anonymous: The answer is yes;} 


	16. Sucks to Suck

Sucks to be the Ones

Kazuko's head would have been stuck to his chest in disappointment for the whole trip, that is, if it hadn't been for his sensei. His sensei had just passed a hand through their hair and had given then a real smile. The _I'm proud of you_ had been silent. This was their third chunin exams. The third time they had not earned a jacket.

It grated on his nerves seeing the other young graduates laughing and celebrating. It didn't seem fair that they had all this power. He had been working hard for years…it just…it was discouraging after seeing some of their fights.

Even they had been packed into one of the tents and under guard even though none of them had bloodlines. Some of the others had been ready to go and fight. Trying to prove that they were good enough. The other Jounin had given them a harsh look that stopped any thoughts. There weren't here to start a war.

The way back to the village was tense, but with undertones of celebrations. It was a lot of green jackets to see. His team was sulking in the back and he got to watch everyone. The Nara kunoichi had been out most of the way back. Her fight had been mind boggling from the beginning thought. She was not weak at all. But strength only caused people to try to kill you…or worse. That was a lesson learned.

He watched as the new chunin chased after the crazy green Jounin.

"Don't even think about it" His teammate grumbled from the side as his sensei turned a wicked smile towards him.

He laughed. Yeah. He wasn't in a hurry to grow up just yet.

* * *

Started it. Didn't have anything else to say. Except it sucks to suck. I'm working on a Sasuke POV right now.


	17. Tea shop Pit Stop

This doesn't have a plot lol. It's just a drabble more than a chapter. Anyone want to name a character they want in a POV or a point in the story?

Teahouse Pit Stop

"I have things to do brat, go train" the pervi-age throws him his toad wallet and leaves in a puff. He wants to yell at the pervert about it, but it's too late.

"Stop taking my things!" he yells anyway. A woman stops and stares at him talking to himself, before pushing her young son and moving away from the 'crazy boy'. He flushes, and instead of training, he goes to get lunch in rebellion.

"Nee-chan, can I get some onigiri?" the young woman smiles and shows him to a table. He goes to take a seat beside the window. He sighs and looks out the window. Naruto sees a little girl with a braid and can't help but feel the twinge of _missing_.

It's been months since he left Konoha and he misses home. He misses his bed, plants, and training grounds. He especially misses his team and other friends. He doesn't miss the glares he got though. They had been rare as time passed, but there had been a few. It's nice that he hasn't seen those in a while.

He eats his food sadly. He misses Ramen from the old man. He imagines what Shikako and Sasuke would do if they were here. They would drag him to the training grounds and make him fight the cloud left. He slaps his hands on his cheeks, leaves money on the table, and runs outside the town. Jiraiya would find him if he needed him.

He makes 20 clones and starts working on his secret technique. He can't help but let out an evil giggle. He can't wait to hit Sasuke with it next time he sees him. It's always funny when he starts cursing out loud.

"Achoo!"

Sasuke wipes his nose with the back of his hand.

"Are you getting sick Sasuke? I don't think your _friends_ will like it if you do" Shikako says sarcastically and without an ounce of compassion. Yep, she's still pissed off.

"Hn" he says and ignores her to continue going through a document that Shikako had brought back. It's about how the clan used to run day to day. It would be terribly boring if he-

"here, tea" he takes the lemon tea and smells honey on it.

"Thank you" He says like he doesn't care, but _really_. She's mothering him again. He lets her because he knows she is worried about him being in ANBU. He has tried to show up more often.

"I'm going on a possible long-term mission tomorrow" she says sitting down.

"And you'll be back in a week" He says. She smirks. It's turned into a running gag. He really wants to sigh. She doesn't say it because then he would be mad, but he sees it. She is worried about leaving. He almost wants to tell her to _take care_ in spite. She would hate that.

"Probably" She says back and gathers her things to leave.

"Good luck"

"You're the one who needs good luck. You do stupid things" she says. She really needs to let that go.

"get out already" he says smirking before turning back to his paper.

"And drink your tea before it gets cold!" she says before closing the door behind her.

He feels sorry for her future children already.


	18. Chapter 18: Bargaining

***waves* hello guys. I haven't updated since 2015, so I thought I should try. I have been busy adulting. I graduated (Yay) & I got a Job (yay -_-). At least I have money now. **

**So lately I didnt feel like I had anything to write...but in the words of Jane the Virgin...stretch that writing muscle! I hope you guys like!**

* * *

"A finished seal and a one she is working on"

Shikamaru says as he enters the launging area in research where you can usually see Nara's from different fields sharing information. Takatori doesn't even need to know what or who they talking about. Shikamaru had just been there half an hour ago. Takatori had almost protested when Oba-San had said 2 months regardless of their project (the project that would turn the village inside out by store scrolls). He knows the plan now. Ryosen and Oba-San's eyes sparkle in victory. Ryosen almost snatches the seal from Shikamaru's hands in her hurry to see it. It takes her 3 seconds to know what it does.

"Rudimentary, but it works. Earth" she says raising an eyebrow. He can see that it does look less refined than the one chakra control one. It doesn't make it any less amazing. There hasn't been a seal restructure in a while and Shikako is starting one.

"Unlimited use" Takatori says as his points to earth too, after stealing it from a glaring Ryosen. Very impressive. They had just been hoping for the control seal.

"We're listening" Oba-San says folding her arms.

"We want the storage seals approved by next week"

Takatori raises his eyebrows. That's a tight deadline. The testing process would be grueling and they would have to get people to help them. Favors would have to be called in.

"Impossible. 1 month". Oba-San says. Shikamaru raises one eyebrow back. He has been around enough to know that it is possible.

"3 weeks only for the finished control seal" He says bluffing. Ryosen begs with her eyes. She wants the element seal.

"I will call in favors" Ryosen says in a moment of weakness. Of course this would do it. It's research heaven. Oba-San sighs and drops her arms.

"Fine. One week in exchange for two finished seals and a 75% discount for storage scrolls for the clan"

Shikamaru shrugs. He doesn't really care about the money and he would have done it anyway. Everyone tends to favor anything that helps the clan.

"One week" He says before pulling the seal from Ryosen's hands and she reluctantly lets it go. Shikamaru slouches away but his shoulders are raised a bit in victory.

"So now we are bartering with her?" Takatori says and Oba-San throws him a withering look. Oba-San couldn't have afforded to be kind in the situation that had gone down. The Nara Research department is too important to let anything like this go by. It has been made worse by the fact that she was the daughter of head of clan. Any whispers of nepotism would have hurt the whole field. Everyone had been at fault, including Shikako. He understands that. He tilts his head. It wasn't a reproach.

"If we have to until she comes back on her violation, then yes" she says before standing up. She knows better than to force someone's hand. Especially one that could be a future head of clan. "Go call in your favors. We need a team of people ready by tonight".

Takatori grimaces but nods readily. He had plans for those favors, but he won't deny this is more important.

* * *

On the third night and only 9 hours of sleep since they started he regrets agreeing so readily to it.

* * *

 **I imagine that even if a Nara used clan resources for research, they would have some kind of ownership over a project. The Nara clan can handle the sale and bargaining, but it would still be primarily owned by Shikako. I think it would be highly unfair otherwise. Every Nara seems to pay some kind of tax to the clan for resources too anyway.**


	19. Chapter 19: Nepotism

Here you go

* * *

It's hard not to be annoyed and be impressed by Shikako Nara at the same time. The girl is behind in lessons every time she comes into the hospital, and somehow manages to catch up on the concepts by the end of the class, if not the practicals. She is a Nara, that's true, but she isn't the only working at this hospital. She is exceptional by her own right. Shikako Nara was only accepted into the advanced program so late and testing out the beginner classes because the Hokage 'recommended' she attend. It causes jealousy and whispers of nepotism. Even more when she skips classes due to missions and does not get reprimanded or kicked out. Usually missing classes means being left behind and unable to keep up with the class. The jealous trainees are idiots, the Director thinks. Nepotism only gets you so far.

She watches as Shikako heals the pig on the table from a Kunai to the stomach. She is pulling the Kunai out carefully to avoid causing more damage and heals what she leaves behind. She is only about 20 minutes behind Sakura who has already moved to the Kunai on its thigh. The rest of the class is still working on the Kunai that has nicked a lung. Sakura Haruno is the best trainee they have at the moment, including people who have been there for years. She receives lessons from the Hokage herself, another sore point.

"Concentrate on your own damn pig Akemi!" Their sensei yells at the girl who is indeed too anxious about being left behind. The director watches as sensei goes to her and talks her through it. Her wavering chakra returns to its passive green color and her face into concentration.

Sweat pours down from Sakura's head and there is tension on her shoulders, but her chakra control is perfect. She almost stares jealousy at how smooth her chakra is. She had committed the mistake of writing her off at the beginning. She had been a tiny little girl that cared more about her hair than class. Or so it seemed until she passed all her written tests with 100% accuracy. The trend continued into the practicals. After she had started lessons with the Hokage her progress had once again shot up. They were already calling her the med-nin with most potential in years since Tsunade-hime. Sakura released her hold on her chakra with a sigh. The director stepped forward and put her hand with chakra over the pig. Perfectly healthy.

"Good job Sakura-Kun" She said and smiled proudly. Shee motioned her towards the break room where they had snacks and water. "Today you will be with Dr. Hirose

* * *

Recs:

Naruto: Waves by imcompletesentac (erava) AO3

Harry potter: They didnt know we were seeds by Lucy_luna AO3

Ironman & Batman: Elliptical Orbit by Croik AO3

The Martian: #BringHimHome by Melrows AO3

Big Hero Six and the Martian: Big Hero Martian by Anonymous Ao3


End file.
